Flowers to Plant Now for Gorgeous Spring Color

By Southern Living Editors
March 15, 2020
Jacky Parker Photography
Let your garden explode with color with spring with a selection of annuals, bulbs, and perennials. Whether you live on the coast or in the mountainous regions of the South, have a large flower garden or a small patio with hanging baskets, your local nursery will have the best selection of flowering plants that will work best for your specific area. Dust off your gardening tools, map out your garden, and get ready for a riot of color this spring.   
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Verbena

Credit: Naga Manas/EyeEm

Verbenas make great companion plants. Low growing varieties make good ground cover and hanging basket plants and the taller verbenas show out in borders. Most varieties thrive in heat and tolerate drought.

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Pentas

Credit: Dorit Bar-Zakay

Depending on the region, pentas are grown as either a perennial or annual. This plant flowers like crazy, bringing butterflies and hummingbirds into your garden. The scarlet flowers with pink centers are irresistible to them. Variegated foliage contrasts nicely with other plantings. Chartreuse- or black-leaved sweet potatoes are perfect partners.

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Larkspur

Credit: Steve Satushek

A close cousin of the delphinium, larkspurs come in a rainbow of colors -- purple, blue, lavender, pink, salmon, and white -- and their flower spikes stand two to five feet high. Larkspurs are effective in borders and make good cut flowers; lower-growing kinds do well in containers.

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Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Credit: itsabreeze photography

The most common foxglove, the flowers are 2 to 3 inches long and look like clusters of bells dangling from the sturdy stalks. Blooms vary in color from creamy white to dark pink and purple with spotted throats. They're one of the easiest plants to grow, adding height (3-5 feet tall) and charm to any garden. When possible, plant foxgloves in protected areas next to walls or fences and away from windy locations.

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Pansies and Violas

Credit: Westend61

These small, compact annuals provide sporadic color in the winter months and then form a carpet of blooms in the spring. Violas, also known as Johnny-jump-ups, are a compact version of pansies. Many violas will reseed freely in the garden. Both pansies and violas come in a variety of colors ranging from white to blue, red, orange, yellow, and purple.

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Snapdragon

Credit: aimintang

These are great flowers for sunny borders., growing 6 to 36 inches tall, depending on selection. Medium and tall snapdragons work well in the middle or back of a border underplanted with pansies. Snapdragons come in many colors including white, pink, red, yellow, and orange.

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Sweet William

Credit: JudiDicks

These hardy, old-fashioned biennials are often grown as annuals. Small plants set out in the fall garden quickly spread to form a mass of foliage. The plentiful leaves help keep the garden green throughout the winter. The following spring, dense clusters of white, pink, rose, purple, or bicolored flowers appear. The blooms look like small clouds on top of tall stems.

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Salvia

Credit: SMIT SANDHIR

Salvia comes in many gorgeous shades, from stunning orange-coral, to pink, to pale lavender. This tough, hardy plant is a great addition to your yard because it can withstand even the hottest summer days. Plant and enjoy; it requires minimal maintenance.

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Camellia

Credit: Rosemary Calvert

These late winter and early spring bloomers are practically spilling off of the shrubs at this time of year. Reds pink, and white blossoms are gorgeous garden staples. Plant one shrub to create a focal point with impact, or grow several to form a hedge, fence cover, or barrier for privacy.

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Daffodils

Credit: Rosemary Calvert

These bright and brave blooms are one of the first to pop their heads up out of the ground after a cold winter. The best part of planting these hardy perennials – other than the surprise you get from seeing their color before anything else flowers, is they require minimal maintenance.

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Flowering Quince

Credit: Jacky Parker Photography

This camellia lookalike is a sure sign of springtime. It brings bright flowers in early spring, and its blooms are vibrant and fragrant—plus they’re deer resistant, which is great if you find four-footed pests creating chaos in your garden year after year.

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Gerbera Daisies

Credit: Mailson Pignata/500px

These happy blooms are a perennial in the coastal and tropical south, but they’re usually treated as annuals everywhere else. Sturdy and vibrant, daisies are familiar flowers that bring a smile to everyone they encounter. 

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Lantana

Credit: Stockcam

These flowers bloom continuously when the weather is warm. Dainty and vibrant, they look great in gardens, planters, or window boxes. Pick your shades, plant them in full sun, and wait for the bees and butterflies to arrive.

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By Southern Living Editors